By Marianne David
With over 50 years in the culinary world and more than three decades of making his much-loved Christmas pudding, celebrity chef Koluu has created a highly-sought-after festive delicacy that has become something of a closely-guarded secret.
First crafted in Portugal around 1995, using a blend of his mother’s recipe and one shared by a neighbour, the pudding was an instant success. Since then, he has refined it over the years, adapting the recipe to locally available ingredients in Sri Lanka while remaining uncompromising about quality, in his signature style.
In a country where rich cake and love cake dominate the festive season, Koluu’s pudding – best eaten hot and flambéed, with a generous helping of brandy butter – has carved out its own special place. Yet, despite sharing countless recipes with those he has trained, this signature creation remains a secret he intends to pass on to just one chosen person.
“I absolutely love eating well-steamed, piping hot Christmas pudding, flambéed, and served with brandy butter laced with alcohol. The combination awakens all my taste buds and senses. I do enjoy Sri Lankan Christmas cake as well, although very few people manage to make a truly delicious one,” said Koluu.
Here, he shares the origins of his celebrated pudding and his hopes for preserving the culinary traditions that make Christmas special.
You have contributed to the culinary world for over 50 years, and your journey began with baking cakes. Take us back to the beginning. How did your love affair with baking start and how did Christmas pudding eventually become part of your culinary journey?
Growing up in the 1970s, we baked and created recipes with whatever ingredients were available. Although this was challenging, it taught us to be resourceful and creative. My cousin Bertha was also an excellent cook, and together with my mother, we began creating a variety of imaginative cakes.
Do you remember the first Christmas pudding you ever made? What inspired you to try it, and what do you remember most vividly about that experience?
I first experimented with making Christmas pudding around 1995, while I was living in Portugal. The recipe was a combination of my mother’s recipe and one shared by my neighbour, Aunty Veena, who kindly passed it on to me. It was an instant success and people from all over the neighborhood began ordering the pudding.
How has the recipe or the process evolved over time?
After returning to Sri Lanka, I made a few adjustments to use locally available ingredients.
Christmas in Sri Lanka is synonymous with rich Christmas cake and the much-loved love cake. Why did you choose to specialise in Christmas pudding over these traditional favourites?
I absolutely love eating well-steamed, piping hot Christmas pudding, flambéed, and served with brandy butter laced with alcohol. The combination awakens all my taste buds and senses. I do enjoy Sri Lankan Christmas cake as well, although very few people manage to make a truly delicious one.
What makes a truly exceptional Christmas pudding?
I don’t place much importance on the ageing process, which I find rather dated. What matters most is using the highest-quality ingredients and never compromising on any of them. Good quality alcohol, essences, and freshly ground allspice are also essential.
Christmas pudding is steeped in tradition and nostalgia. What do you think makes it so special and will it continue to hold its own alongside other festive treats?
I often wonder whether this tradition will continue in Sri Lanka, as many people are now drawn to modern trends that have little to do with traditional Christmas celebrations. If there are still people who value these traditions and appreciate refined flavours, the pudding may endure. Otherwise, the tradition could gradually fade away in Sri Lanka.
Could you walk us through the preparation process? What are the little details that make your pudding distinctly Koluu’s?
It is not a particularly long process; it is about organisation, planning, precise measurements, and high-quality ingredients, as I mentioned earlier. The quality of the eggs and butter is also important. I have mastered this recipe over the years, which is why people with discerning palates keep seeking it out.
After making Christmas pudding for more than three decades, does making it still excite you in the same way it did when you first started? Has the process become a cherished annual ritual?
It still excites me and it will continue to do so for as long as I am able to make it. I make only a limited number of puddings and avoid becoming overly commercial, which helps maintain demand each year.
When you first started cooking professionally, what was Christmas like? How did people celebrate, what were the festive preparations like, and how different was the culinary scene back then?
At 66, I can say that Christmas was very different in the past. Most people prepared almost everything at home, while catering and purchasing food from stores or caterers were virtually unheard of. There were very few caterers and a Yule log from Perera & Sons or another bakery was often the highlight of the celebrations. At that time, mainly Christian communities celebrated Christmas. Today, people from almost every religious background decorate their homes and celebrate Christmas.
Looking at Christmas celebrations today, what changes have you noticed in people’s tastes, expectations, and festive food traditions? Are there any old customs you wish we would bring back?
In Sri Lanka, serving turkey with all the trimmings remains one of the most traditional ways to celebrate Christmas, accompanied by a variety of other dishes and followed by Christmas pudding. Some households instead serve a delicious Sri Lankan meal featuring their finest curries, including pork. Compared with the more intimate celebrations of the past, today’s Christmas festivities are often much more lavish, with affluent families reserving tables at five-star hotels for Christmas lunch or dinner.
Having spent five decades in the culinary world, what has the journey taught you about the importance of preserving recipes across generations?
Many families have wonderful recipes passed down through generations. These recipes are both precious and delicious. However, I fear many may disappear as people increasingly prefer to decorate their homes and buy food from outside. Laziness, busy lifestyles, and financial pressures also contribute to this decline. It would be a great loss.
Your Christmas pudding is the result of years of experience and craftsmanship. Who else, apart from you, knows how to make it to your exacting standards?
Perhaps one or two people I know could make it, but I still think I have the edge. The only other two people who made truly delicious plum pudding have passed away.
Have you ever considered sharing your Christmas pudding recipe publicly, perhaps in a cookbook or with the next generation of chefs? Or is this one culinary secret you would prefer to keep close to your chest?
I have happily shared my recipes with everyone I have trained, but not this one. Perhaps one day, when I can no longer make it, I will pass the recipe on to the one person I have chosen.
Has demand for your Christmas pudding changed over the years? Do you find that people return to it annually?
Each year, I make approximately the same number of puddings, including a limited number of corporate orders. If additional puddings are needed, I accommodate those requests; otherwise, I maintain the same quantity. This approach helps sustain demand each year.
For those who would love to have a Koluu Christmas pudding on their festive table this year, how can they place an order and by when?
Colombo is a small pond, as you know. Regular buyers will forward my contact details to anyone who would like a pudding; I am happy to accommodate new clients and they will find a way to reach me. Each year, it is the regular customers who truly appreciate a quality product. I prefer to keep it that way.
P.S. If you want a Christmas pudding by Koluu, get in touch now – he only makes a limited number each year and the process has already begun. I for one cannot wait to dig into mine, come Christmas!
Leave a comment